“Minor issue” resolved for Italian citizenship by descent: new circular of the Ministry of the Interior for Consulates and Municipalities

The issue known as the “minor issue” concerning Italian citizenship by descent has entered a new phase. After years of conflicting interpretations regarding the loss of Italian citizenship by minors born abroad in a jus soli country due to the naturalization of one of their parents, the Ministry of the Interior issued and published a new circular on August 26, 2026, intended to provide operational guidance to Italian authorities and consular representations.

The document follows the intervention of the United Sections of the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, which clarified the legal framework concerning Articles 7 and 12 of Law No. 555 of 1912, bringing an end to the main interpretive conflict that had affected numerous Italian citizenship recognition applications.

What changes for those claiming italian citizenship by descent

The central issue concerns children born abroad to Italian parents who, at the time of their birth, also held the citizenship of the foreign country by virtue of jus soli.

According to the interpretation now definitively clarified by the Supreme Court of Cassation, the fact that an Italian parent voluntarily acquired a foreign citizenship while the child was still a minor does not automatically result in the child losing Italian citizenship.

This issue is particularly relevant to Italian citizenship by descent applications in cases where an Italian citizen who emigrated abroad became naturalized in the destination country while his or her children were still minors.

The new interpretation specifically applies to situations in which the Italian parent’s naturalization took place between July 1, 1912, and August 15, 1992.

The circular provides guidance to municipalities and consulates

The Ministry’s intervention does not merely clarify the legal principle; it is primarily aimed at ensuring its uniform application by public authorities.

The instructions are therefore addressed to the authorities responsible for examining citizenship recognition applications, including municipal administrations and Italian consular offices abroad.

The objective is to prevent similar situations from being assessed according to different criteria depending on the competent office, ensuring that the new guidance resulting from the Supreme Court’s ruling is applied to the cases concerned.

What about those who have already been denied?

One of the most important aspects of the new rules concerns people who had already submitted an application for recognition of Italian citizenship and whose applications had been rejected specifically on the basis of the previous interpretation of the “minor issue.”

In such cases, it may be possible to request a review of the original application, provided that the rejection was based exclusively on the application of Articles 7 and 12 of Law No. 555/1912, according to the criteria set out in the previous Ministerial Circular No. 43347 of October 3, 2024.

Therefore, it is not necessarily a matter of submitting a new application: the applicant may ask the authority that issued the rejection decision to reassess the case in light of the new interpretation.

Which law will apply to the review?

A particularly significant element concerns the date on which the original application was submitted.

The review must in fact be conducted on the basis of the legal framework applicable at the time the original application was filed.

Consequently, for applications submitted before March 27, 2025, the new restrictions introduced by the citizenship reform and enacted through Law 74/2025 should not be applied retroactively to the proceeding being reviewed.

This aspect may be particularly important for those who had already initiated a procedure before the new provisions entered into force.

Which authority must re-examine the case?

Jurisdiction remains with the authority that issued the previous rejection decision.

This means that a subsequent change in the applicant’s residence does not automatically result in the case being transferred to another municipality or another consular office.

The request for review must therefore be addressed to the same authority that examined and rejected the original application.

A significant development for many italian families abroad

The publication of the circular represents an important development for those who had been excluded from recognition of Italian citizenship because of the previous interpretation of the “minor issue.”

The ruling of the United Sections and the subsequent instructions issued by the Ministry of the Interior now provide a more clearly defined framework for assessing situations that, until recently, had been considered incompatible with recognition of Italian citizenship.

Can your case be reconsidered?

Anyone who previously received a rejection based exclusively on the previous interpretation of the “minor issue” may now have a new opportunity to have their case reassessed.

The possibility of obtaining a review does not, however, mean that every previous application will automatically be approved: it is necessary to determine whether the case actually falls within the situations covered by the new ministerial guidance.

For this reason, before initiating a new procedure, it is advisable to examine the rejection decision and all documentation relating to the transmission of citizenship through the family line.

In any event, the new circular represents an important clarification for public authorities and for thousands of descendants of Italians who, in recent years, have had to deal with the consequences of uncertainty surrounding the interpretation of the “minor issue.”

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The content of this article is intended to provide general information on the topic. For doubts or specific cases, it is advisable to seek specialized legal advice tailored to your particular situation.

Article written by Alessia Ajelli, Managing Associate of LCA Studio Legale, Italian lawyer specialized on Italian immigration and citizenship law, and Paolo Grassi, Trainee of LCA Studio Legale.